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2. Signs of the End-Times
 Signs
are a part of every day life, they tell us where to go,
what to do and how to behave. Signs are designed to
inform us so we have time to make choices. In order for
a sign to exist, someone had to have the foresight to
warn or inform those who follow. For example, if you
were driving a car down the highway and the bridge was
out ahead. If you ignored the warning about the bridge,
you put yourself in danger.
Two thousand years ago, Jesus warned the
Pharisees about their failure to recognize signs. And in
the process, they crucified the Messiah, and 37 years
later
Jerusalem and the Temple was destroyed.
2. He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say,
'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red';
3 "and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for
the sky is red and threatening.' Hypocrites! You know
how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot
discern the signs of the times. Matthew 16:2-3
God in his mercy uses signs to warn people about
coming events, so preparations can be made. Before Jesus
came into the world, God through the prophets gave very
specific information regarding the Messiah and so when
His Son came,
Israel
would be prepared to accept Him. Jesus healed the
blind, lame and lepers. He raised the dead, and was
Himself resurrected, a sign to Israel, he was their
Messiah and Savior. Israel could choose to accept or
reject the signs, their choice to reject Christ as
Messiah has resulted in two thousand years of misery for
the descendents of Israel.
In the End Times, God again deals with
Israel. Gabriel informed Daniel over 2500 years ago his
people Israel and city of Jerusalem would be the center
of world focus (Daniel
9:24). They would serve the role as God’s prophetic clock. In
the End-Times, God would restore the Jews to the
land of
Israel.
1.
Israel as a sign
 One
of their clearest signs presented in scripture, of the
end-times is the nation of
Israel. Before
Israel
even entered the land, under the leadership Moses, the
future of the nation was declared. Moses told Israel if
they were obedient as a nation, they would be blessed
above al the nations of the world.
"Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently
obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe
carefully all His commandments which I command you
today, that the Lord your God will set you high above
all nations of the earth. Deuteronomy 28:1 (1450 B.C.)
Israel
Scattered
Moses also warned
Israel,
if they rebelled against the Lord, they would suffer
rebuke. The nation, even before they entered the land
learned from Moses, about their future.
 64 "Then the Lord will scatter you among all
peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and
there you shall serve other gods, which neither you nor
your fathers have known-wood and stone.
65 "And among those nations you shall find no rest, nor shall
the sole of your foot have a resting place; but there
the Lord will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes,
and anguish of soul.
66 "Your life shall hang in doubt before you; you
shall fear day and night, and have no assurance of life.
67 "In the morning you shall say, 'Oh, that it were evening!'
And at evening you shall say, 'Oh, that it were
morning!' because of the fear which terrifies your
heart, and because of the sight which your eyes see.
Deuteronomy 28:64-67
 In A.D. 70, 37-years after
Israel
rejected Christ as Messiah, as foretold in the book of
Daniel (Daniel 9:26), over 1,000,000 Jews died at the
hands of Romans under the General and future emperor
Titus. Sixty years after Titus, Hadrian massacred
another 580,000 Jews who had rebelled against Rome.
Hadrian was determined to erase the history of the
Jewish people from the world. Hadrian renamed
Jerusalem
and Judea, Jews were no longer allowed in the area. The
people of Israel were scattered throughout the Roman
Empire fulfilling the words of Moses written 1400 years
earlier.
26 "And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut
off, but not for Himself; And the people of the
prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the
sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And
till the end of the war desolations are determined.
Daniel
9:26
(539 B.C.)
The history of the Jewish people for the last
2000 years continues to fulfill what Moses said would
happen to
Israel.
The Jewish people have maintained their identity, but
were at the mercy of the nations, they suffered at the
hands of the Byzantines, Crusades, Muslims, Europeans,
Russians and most recently the Nazi’s. Moses warned
Israel in verse Deuteronomy 28:66, “Your life shall
hand in doubt before you; you shall fear day and night,
and have no assurance of life”.
Israel
gathered
Moses also promised
Israel
they would one day be gathered after they scattered and
they would be restored to the land of their fathers, the
land of Israel. They would be blessed even more then forefathers.
1 "Now it shall come to pass, when all these things come upon
you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before
you, and you call them to mind among all the nations
where the Lord your God drives you,
2 "and you return to the Lord your God and obey His voice,
according to all that I command you today, you and your
children, with all your heart and with all your soul,
3 "that the Lord your God will bring you back from
captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather
you again from all the nations where the Lord your God
has scattered you.
4 "If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under
heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you,
and from there He will bring you. Deuteronomy 30:1-4
(1450 B.C.)
 The gathering of the Jews in
Israel
today was foretold 3400 years ago, even before
Israel
ever possessed the land of Israel. One of the most
prophesied events in scripture is the end times
gathering of
Israel.
(See Jeremiah 30:3, Isaiah 11:10-16, Isaiah 14:2,
Ezekiel 36-37, Joel 3:1-2) Ezekiel writes,
8 "After many days you will be visited. In the latter
years you will come into the land of those brought
back from the sword and gathered from many people
on the mountains of
Israel,
which had long been desolate; they were
brought out of the nations, and now all of them
dwell safely.
11 "You will say, 'I will go up against a land of unwalled
villages; I will go to a peaceful people, who dwell
safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having
neither bars nor gates'
12 to take plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your
hand against the waste places that are again
inhabited, and against a people gathered from the
nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who
dwell in the midst of the land.
Ezekiel 38:8 (592 B.C.)
According to Ezekiel, after a long period, in the
“latter days” (Last days) Israel would return to a land
“Long” desolate. The people of the “New” nation would
be collected from many nations and many people.
The people are living in safety in un walled villages,
in a formally desolate lands. This description can only
match the present day state of Israel. The Jewish nation
is gathered from many people and nations, after an
almost 2000-year period of desolation.
In May
1948, after the death of 6,000,000 Jews in Nazi Germany,
the world out of sympathy for the Jewish descendents of
voted small Jewish nation into existence in the land of
Palestine. Palestine was the name given the land by
Hadrian almost 1900 years earlier when he tried to erase
memory of the Jewish people and their land. The Jewish
descendents choose the name Israel for their new
nation.
2.
Jerusalem the focus of world attention
 Jesus
Christ was with His disciples in the
Temple,
and said the following, days before he was betrayed and
killed on the cross, regarding the city of Jerusalem.
37 "O
Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are
sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children
together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings,
but you were not willing! 38 "See! Your house is left
to you desolate;
39 "for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you
say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the
Lord!' " Matthew 23:37-39
Jerusalem, as the seat of Jewish authority and power
rejected Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus specifically talks
about a relationship he had with
Jerusalem,
who has constantly rebelled against His authority
killing the prophets. Jesus says
Jerusalem
would undergo a period of desolation after their
rejection of Him. However Jesus promises to return to
Jerusalem in the future, when the people of Jerusalem
acknowledge, He is Messiah.
In the book of Zechariah 520 years before the
birth of Jesus, Zechariah foretold the worldwide central
focus of
Jerusalem,
when it was a barren forgotten city. Destroyed by
Babylon in 586 B.C., the Jews of Persia preferred the
safety of Persia, rather then return to a defenseless
city without walls. Zechariah however wrote, the world
would one day be gathered against the city and its
Jewish inhabitants in the latter days.
2 "Behold, I will make
Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding
peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and
Jerusalem.
3 "And it shall happen in that day that I will make
Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all
who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces,
though all nations of the earth are gathered against
it.
9 "It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all
the nations that come against
Jerusalem.
10 "And I will pour on the house of David and on the
inhabitants of
Jerusalem
the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will
look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn
for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for
Him as one grieves for a firstborn. Zechariah
12:2-3,9-10 (520 B.C.)
Even before Jesus was born, Zechariah through the Holy Spirit
saw the Christ’s 2nd coming when
Israel
would acknowledge Jesus is Messiah. Israel rejected
Jesus the Messiah at his first coming, as both Isaiah
(Isaiah 53) and Daniel (Daniel 9:26)foretold. Israel in
the end-days would understand their mistake, and repent
and call out to Jesus the Messiah, who would return in
power as foretold, when Israel recognized Him in the
last days. Zechariah wrote, Israel would look on “Me,
whom they pierced”.
Why is
Jerusalem so important?
Ø
2100 B.C., over 4000 years ago, Abraham was sent to
the city of
Jerusalem. God told Abraham this land is given to his descendents
forever. God made a covenant with Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob regarding the city of
Jerusalem.
Ø
1000 B.C.. Abraham descendent, David would conquer
the city from its Jebusite occupants and make it the
capital of his nation. Later, God would instruct David,
on
Mt.
Moriah (The Temple Mount) a Temple is to be built by his
son Solomon.
Ø
In 586 B.C. the Babylonians destroy the city and
temple, 70 years later the
Temple
is rebuilt and the Jews are allowed to return.
Ø
63 B.C. the Romans conquer the city of
Jerusalem, making it of the Roman Empire.
Ø
A.D. 33, Jesus Christ is crucified by the Romans
after He is rejected as
Israel’s Messiah.
Ø
In A.D. 70, the Romans under Titus conquer the
city. They destroy the city and
Temple,
1,000,000 Jews are killed.
Ø
A.D. 132, The Jews under the leadership of Bar
Kochba rebel against the Romans, and attempt to
establish a kingdom. The Romans, led by Hadrian crush
the rebellion and 580,000 Jews are massacred.
Ø
The Romans rebuild the city, renaming it Capitolina
Aelia, and they rename
Judea, Palestine
after the Philistines.
Ø
A.D. 325
Rome
becomes Christian when the Emperor Constantine proclaims
himself Christian and his kingdom Christian. Jerusalem
and the Holy sites under Helen, Constantine’s mother are
uncovered.
Ø
A.D. 638 The Muslims conquer the city of
Jerusalem from the Byzantines (Romans) and proclaim it a
Muslim city.
Ø
A.D. 687 Muslim’s build the Dome of the Rock over
the site of the
Temple
Mount,
proclaiming Islam is the final and true religion.
Ø
A.D. 1099, Christian Europe conquers
Jerusalem from the Muslims and the Muslims retake the
city 89 years later under Saladin.
Ø
A.D. 1865 Jews start migrating to
Jerusalem from Europe in preparation of the Messiah.
Ø
A.D. 1918 Western allies, under Allenbie conquer
Jerusalem from the Ottoman Turks, successors of the
Muslims.
Ø
A.D. May 1948, Jewish state is established, with
Jerusalem declared an International city, by the United
Nations, after six million Jews die in the Holocaust.
The same day five Arab armies attack the new state of
Israel and loose the war, Jews declare Jerusalem as the
eternal capital of the Jewish people.
East Jerusalem with the
Temple
mount remains under Arab control.
Ø
A.D. 1967, Jews take possession of
East
Jerusalem and the Temple Mount after the Muslim nations
attack Israel.
Israel
for the first time in over 2000 years, as an independent
nation, has control of the Temple Mount site.
Ø
Today,
Jerusalem is an important city to over ½ of the world’s
populations; 1.3 Billion Muslims, 1 Billion Catholics, 1
Billion Protestants and 20 million Jews. The world
views the problems in
Jerusalem
between Muslims and Jews as key to world peace.
Ø
Growing pressure in
Jerusalem by orthodox groups to tear down the Muslim,
Dome of the Rock and rebuild the Temple, make Jerusalem
the focus of world attention and battle as Muslim vow to
defend their “Sacred Sites”.
Zechariah warned of a day when all the nations would be
gathered against
Jerusalem.
Revelation tells us at the end of this age, the armies
of the earth will march toward
Jerusalem
and gather north of the city in a place called
Armageddon, the hills of Megiddo. (Revelation 16:13)
Here the rejected Messiah will save his people, when
they call out to Him. (Zechariah 12:10)
3.
The Coming Third Temple
 Jesus
was leaving the
Temple
with His disciples heading toward the Mt. of Olives,
when he told them about the coming events concerning
Jerusalem and the Temple.
1 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His
disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the
temple.
2 And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things?
Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left
here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."
Matthew 24:1-2
Here Jesus warned them about the coming destruction of the
Temple in A.D. 70 when Romans destroyed both the city
and
Temple
and 1 million Jews lost their lives.
 Jesus also talked about a Third Temple, one which
can only be rebuilt on the Dome of the Rock the Third
Most Holy site to Islam. Jesus talking about the end
said,
14 "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all
the world as a witness to all the nations, and then
the end will come.
15 "Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,'
spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in
the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand),
Matthew 24:14-15
In verse 14, Jesus speaking about the end makes
reference to the Abomination of Desolation,
Daniel and the
Holy
Place.
The Abomination of Desolation spoken of by Daniel is the
coming end-times desecration of the Jewish
Temple
(Daniel 8:13, 9:27, 11:31, 12:11). The Holy Place is
referring to the rocky hill, Mt. Moriah. There Abraham
was sent (Genesis 12:7), David purchased, and Solomon
built the Temple. In order to have an Abomination of
Desolation, which Daniel referred to, you first need a
Temple.
Before you can have a Temple the Dome of the Rock must
be torn down. The Muslim world might object to this.
Jesus also warned what would follow the Abomination of
Desolation, a period of unequalled horror in the history
of humanity.
21 "For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not
been since the beginning of the world until this time,
no, nor ever shall be.
22 "And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be
saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be
shortened. Matthew 24:21-22
Paul in writing about the Antichrist and the
end-times makes it clear there needs to be a
Temple. Paul writing before the destruction of the 2nd
Temple, talked about the end of the age.
3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day
will not come unless the falling away comes first, and
the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,
4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God
or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the
temple
of God,
showing himself that he is God. 2 Thes 2:3-4
The “Day” Paul refers to the Day of the Lord, the End-times.
The “man of sin” is the Antichrist, referred to in
Revelation and Daniel. What this individual does in the
last days is enter the
Temple on
Mt.
Moriah,
The Third Temple, and proclaim himself to be god. Jesus
refers to this act as the “Abomination of Desolation”.
Paul is speaking about the very thing Jesus talks about
in Matthew 24:15. The problem is this, in order for
this to be fulfilled, the Jewish Temple needs to be
built. For the Jewish Temple to be built the Dome of
the Rock needs to be removed.
Today, there is an active movement to rebuild the
Jewish Temple. Many in
Israel,
see the Dome of the Rock, as Islam’s only claim to
Jerusalem,
therefore many see its destruction as a way to free
Jerusalem
from Islam’s claim. Many religious Jews want to build a
Third Temple as their right and obligation to God. Many
in this camp, blame Israel’s problems on their lack of
obedience by building a
Temple.
The building of a Third Temple is by no means an
easy task. In order for this to occur, Islam as a major
power must have its ability to threaten
Israel
removed. The Third Temple could only be built,
following a conflict with Islam.
For this reason, Daniel in the 70 Weeks prophecy,
Daniel 9:27 informs us this Temple agreement will be
made with many and confirmed with military might. The
agreement allowing
Israel
to rebuild the Temple is the beginning of the 70th
Week, or the Tribulation period.
Then he shall confirm a covenant with many
for one week; But in the middle of the week He
shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the
wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate,
Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is
poured out on the desolate." Daniel 9:27
4. The
Coming invasion of Gog and Magog
 The
Muslim nations understand the risk to the Dome of the
Rock, and have threatened
Israel
with world war if the Dome was destroyed to make room
for a Temple. This Islamic invasion into Israel into
Israel was in fact the subject of Ezekiel’s vision over
2500 years ago.
Ezekiel wrote in period of
Israel
upheaval, when Israel was under the Babylonian threat.
Ezekiel was a priest taken captive by the Babylonians to
the land of Babylon in 597 B.C. God Used Ezekiel to
write a message to Israel and the world about their
future.
In this message, God told
Israel
they would again be gathered as nation in the “Latter
time” after a long period of desolation. They would be
gathered from many nations and people. Ezekiel
explains the gathering of
Israel
from the nations in chapters 36 and 37.
In chapter 38 and 39, after
Israel
is gathered, Ezekiel refers to a coming invasion into
Israel in the “Latter days” after Israel is gathered
from the nations.
8 "After many days you will be visited. In the latter years
you will come into the land of those brought back from
the sword and gathered from many people on the mountains
of
Israel,
which had long been desolate; they were brought out of
the nations, and now all of them dwell safely.
Ezekiel 38:8
Only two times in Israel’s history was the nation gathered
back into the land, the first time following King Cyrus
of Persia’s defeat of Babylon in 539 B.C. and the
second, the ingathering of the current nation of
Israel.
Ezekiel mentions specific nations, which today
are enemies of
Israel
and have threatened to annihilate the Jewish state.
Ezekiel specifically mentions
Persia
and its allies of Gog and Magog to the North. Persia,
is known as Iran today, and nation far North or Israel
which is an ally of Iran is Russia.
1 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
2 "Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the
land of
Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and
prophesy against him,
3 "and say, 'Thus says the Lord God: "Behold, I am against
you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal.
5 "Persia,
Ethiopia, and Libya are with them, all of them with
shield and helmet;
6 "Gomer and all its troops; the house of Togarmah from the
far north and all its troops-many people are with you.
Ezekiel 38:1-6
Iran
and Russia, are involved a scenario that many see,
including Jews and Christians as the next major Bible
prophecy about to be fulfilled. Iran one of the
wealthiest oil countries with no lack of natural
resources, claims it wants a nuclear reactor for
peaceful energy purposes. Iran has also developed
missiles capable of reaching
Israel
and Europe.
Russia
has built the reactor, which is has not yet been
activated with nuclear fuel. However,
Russia
has agreed to supply the reactor with fuel once the UN
agrees. (IAEA, the International Atomic Energy Agency)
Iran is
also the sworn enemy of Israel, threatening to
annihilate the Jewish State in the future. Israel along
with the United States has threatened to attack Iran
with the military option if they insist on their nuclear
ambitions.
Iran
has also threatened to attack Israel if Israel moves on
the Dome of the Rock. Time is ticking on a conflict
between Israel and Iran. The problem for Israel is
this; do they wait for Iran to acquire nuclear weapons
before they respond? On the other hand, do they attack
Iran
and upset the world?
Over 2500 years ago, Ezekiel wrote about this
coming conflict between
Israel
and its enemies in the “Latter days”. Ezekiel also
wrote about people in the day this prophecy is fulfilled
looking back to the words spoken by the prophets.
16 "You will come up against My people
Israel
like a cloud, to cover the land. It will be in the
latter days that I will bring you against My land,
so that the nations may know Me, when I am hallowed in
you, O Gog, before their eyes."
17 'Thus says the Lord God: "Are you he of whom I have
spoken in former days by My servants the prophets of
Israel, who prophesied for years in those days that I
would bring you against them? Ezekiel 38:16-17
The day when these events take place, people will open the
Bible, the book of Ezekiel and see the God of Israel is
in control. The world will see The God of Israel is the
“True” God as this Russian/Islamic invasion into
Israel
is defeated.
23 "Thus I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I
will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they
shall know that I am the Lord." ' Ezekiel 38:23
Following the defeat of Gog and Magog in the
land of Israel, Ezekiel gives the instruction of
building the
Millennium
Temple,
when the “Glory of the Lord” will come to his
Temple.
(Ezekiel 40-43) The war of Gog of Magog could very
easily be the result of
Israel
destroying the Dome of the Rock with world and Islamic
outrage. The planned invasion could very well be to
restore Muslim control of the Dome of the Rock. In
their desire to destroy Israel, the Muslim nations are
defeated.
After this war and
Israel’s
victory over Islam, Israel would then begin construction
of the
Third Temple with a
worldwide agreement. This would begin the tribulation
period.
 
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